Demand for 1,3-butadiene, which is an intermediate in petrochemical products, and the value thereof are gradually increasing throughout the world. To produce such 1,3-butadiene, methods, such as naphtha cracking, direct butene dehydrogenation, and oxidative dehydrogenation of butene, have been used. However, in the case of naphtha cracking, energy consumption is high due to high reaction temperature. In addition, since naphtha cracking is not a process specifically designed for production of 1,3-butadiene production, other basic oils, other than 1,3-butadiene, are disadvantageously produced as surplus products. Meanwhile, direct dehydrogenation of normal-butene is thermodynamically unfavorable. In addition, since direct dehydrogenation of normal-butene is an endothermic reaction, high-temperature and low-pressure conditions are required to produce 1,3-butadiene in a high yield. Accordingly, direct dehydrogenation of normal-butene is not suitable as a commercial process for producing 1,3-butadiene.
Meanwhile, since, in the case of oxidative dehydrogenation of butene wherein butene reacts with oxygen in the presence of a metal oxide catalyst to generate 1,3-butadiene and water, stable water is generated and oxidative dehydrogenation of butene is thermodynamically advantageous. In addition, since oxidative dehydrogenation of butene is an exothermic reaction unlike direct dehydrogenation of butene, oxidative dehydrogenation of butene may produce 1,3-butadiene in a high yield even at low reaction temperature, compared to direct dehydrogenation of butene. In addition, since oxidative dehydrogenation of butene does not require additional heat supply, oxidative dehydrogenation of butene may be considered an effective production process that produces only 1,3-butadiene and thus satisfies demand for 1,3-butadiene.
The metal oxide catalyst is generally synthesized by a precipitation method. However, since a first pass yield of the metal oxide catalyst is small due to technical and spatial constraints, the same process is repeated several times to obtain a desired amount of the catalyst. Reactivity to a reactant of such catalysts prepared through several processes may be varied depending upon a preparation process pass, and such a reactivity difference between catalysts is directly related to the yield of a product (butadiene). Accordingly, it is an important research subject to reduce a reactivity difference between catalysts.
Therefore, there is a need for a method of preparing a catalyst capable of providing an improved first pass yield without a reactivity difference between prepared catalysts.